


What friends are for

by Dahlia_Rose_83



Series: friendship [1]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Season 3 AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-22
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-07-26 01:12:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7554397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dahlia_Rose_83/pseuds/Dahlia_Rose_83
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Klaus has kidnapped Alaric in an attempt to blackmail Damon. But Damon doesn’t have those coffins, Stefan won’t tell where they are and Bonnie isn’t helping either. Who should Damon turn to?</p>
            </blockquote>





	What friends are for

**Author's Note:**

> Ever since watching Episode 6/14 – Stay, I wanted to write a story about Damon and Liz. Their friendship was really special and I still can’t understand why they had to kill Liz. I miss her. I’m just sorry that Alaric had to suffer in this story, but there was no other way.  
> Oh and this will be the start of a short (or maybe not so short) series of one-shots. I have quite a few ideas. But I don't know how many stories there'll be.

What friends are for

Damon stormed into the sheriff’s office without sparing a glance at the deputies, who were watching him warily. They all knew him. Knew that he helped the sheriff out sometimes, with vampires and stuff, so no one dared to stop him. Liz looked up from the map spread out on her desk when the vampire stomped into her office, shutting the door behind himself with a resounding bang that made her grimace and the deputies in the main room flinch.  
   
“I reckon your talk with Stefan didn’t go so well.” she commented dryly. “He’s behaving like a child!” Damon snapped, flopping down into a chair and crossing his arms with a pout that made him look like a stubborn child. “I asked nicely, I discussed, I threatened. I even begged in the end, damn it! And you know what he did? He grinned, Liz. He grinned! Told me to stay out of it. To leave it to him. He would handle it. Like I could stay out of it!”  
   
Liz noticed her deputies standing right in front of her door, gaping and whispering amongst themselves and gave them a dark look that had them scurrying back to their own desks. “You said his emotions are back on.” she reminded. “They are. The problem is, that right now they are overwhelming him. So to keep from going ballistic he’s focusing all his energy on one emotion only: His anger at Klaus.” Damon explained.  
   
He could even understand his brother’s need for revenge. And usually he wouldn’t have a problem with Stefan gaining revenge on the stupid original hybrid. Maybe he really would stay out of it and let his baby brother handle the situation. The only problem was that Klaus had finally realized that he had nothing to hurt Stefan with at the moment. So he had decided to concentrate on Damon instead. Because other than Stefan, the older Salvatore had something to lose. Or rather – someone.  
   
He had no idea how Klaus had found out about him and Alaric. They kept their relationship secret and were really very discreet. No-one knew. At least Damon had thought so. But somehow the damned hybrid had found out that Alaric was Damon’s weakness and was now using it against him. He had called Damon to let him know that he had kidnapped the teacher and if Damon wanted him back he had to persuade Stefan to hand over the coffins with Klaus’ family. Only when all coffins had been returned to Klaus, would he get his lover back. If Alaric managed to survive that long.  
   
His lover’s pained cries had been the last thing Damon had heard before the line went dead. Klaus had simply hung up after stating his terms. Damon didn’t want to think about what Alaric might be going through right now. What Klaus might be doing to him. Or if it was already too late to save him. More than 48 hours had passed since Klaus had kidnapped the teacher and still Stefan refused to hand over the coffins or help in any way. The coffins were well hidden and he was not telling where. Damon was close to a nervous breakdown.  
   
Of course Bonnie knew exactly where Stefan had hidden Klaus’ family. She had helped him, after all. But she wasn’t talking either. She insisted that she had given Stefan her word and that she couldn’t betray him. And Elena, who was probably the only one who could make the younger Salvatore see sense, was refusing to even talk to him. She was still mad at Stefan for using her against Klaus. For threatening her life, to gain the upper hand. Both girls seemed oblivious to the fact that Alaric’s life was on the line.  
   
“What about the spell Bonnie wanted to try?” the sheriff asked. “Didn’t work. She can’t find Ric. Obviously Klaus has a witch who blocks every attempt to locate him with magic.” Damon explained impatiently. He was going nuts. Alaric was in danger and there was nothing he could do. Nothing at all. It wasn’t fair. He hadn’t stolen from Klaus. Stefan had. So why was Damon’s boyfriend the one suffering the consequences now? Why couldn’t Klaus simply kidnap Elena? His brother wouldn’t be such a dick if her life was on the line.  
   
“Okay. Since magic is no help, I guess we’ll have to stick with good old police work.” Liz murmured. Damon just gave her a quizzical look, so she continued: “I think it’s unlikely that Klaus is holding Alaric captive in his house. Don’t you?” The vampire nodded. “He’s not there. I already checked.” He had rushed to Klaus’ house right after the call. But Klaus hadn’t even been there and no-one else for that matter.  
   
“Yeah, I thought so.” Liz muttered. “So I did some digging. There are no other houses officially belonging to Klaus, but I wasn’t really expecting that. He doesn’t need legal contracts and all that after all.” Damon nodded vaguely, still wondering where she was going with this. He really had no patience today. But the blonde wasn’t done talking. “I’m assuming that Alaric is being held captive in the near vicinity. He’s Klaus’ leverage over you, so he’ll want him close by. Therefore I made up a list of abandoned buildings and foreclosures within a 60 mile radius. I found four houses, two old storage buildings and a lodge.” She pushed the map over to Damon and he noticed that she had marked the spots of said buildings.  
   
The vampire took a closer look at the map, already planning the best course of action. All the buildings were far out of town, with almost no other houses close by, so every one of them was a possible hideout of Klaus. There was nothing for it. He just had to take a look at each of them and hope that Alaric was being held captive there. “I already told my deputies that I’ll be gone for the rest of the day on a private errand. We can get going right now, if that’s okay with you.” Liz offered.  
   
Damon looked at her in surprise. “We?” he repeated dumbly. “Of course. You don’t really think I’ll let you go on your own, do you? Stefan won’t help you and I don’t think you want to take Elena or Caroline with you.” Okay, she was right about that. Stefan was way too busy being a dick to be of any help. And while Elena and Caroline would probably demand to help with saving Alaric, Damon really didn’t want to take either of them with him. Elena would only try to be a hero, get herself in danger again and in the end force Damon to save her as well. Caroline would be more of a help, but she would grate on his nerves with her constant babbling.  
   
“Come on. I’ll drive.” the sheriff ordered and Damon followed her outside without thinking twice about it. When they reached the parking lot he hesitated for a second, before getting a bag out of his trunk and putting it on the backseat of Liz’ car. “Quite an arsenal.” the blonde commented, after taking a peek into the bag. “That’s Ric’s hunters gear.” the vampire explained quietly. The teacher had left the weapons in his car a few days ago, after they had taken out another one of Klaus’s annoying hybrid-slaves.  
   
Damon had been making fun of Ric for taking the whole bag with him every time they went on a hunt. Ric had countered like he always did and insisted that one day Damon would be grateful for it. Well, he’d been right. Now the vampire was grateful to have the whole arsenal with him. Being prepared for whatever they might encounter gave him a little more confidence. Now he only hoped they weren’t too late.  
   
***  
   
Most of the drive passed in silence. Damon was too busy staring out of the window, worrying about his boyfriend to keep up a conversation. Liz was watching him out of the corner of her eye, but didn’t push him. When the first two houses turned out to be dead ends, the vampire started getting restless. He was glancing at his mobile phone every few minutes, muttering about useless witches under his breath. In the end he asked Liz to let him drive. “I’m already pushing the speed limit. This is a police car, not a racing car.” Sheriff Forbes pointed out. Damon kept grumbling under his breath. “We’re not helping Alaric if you’re crashing my car, Damon. And Klaus can’t really hurt him. Alaric is his leverage. He doesn’t want to lose that.”  
   
The dark-haired vampire kept staring out of the window. “Just means he won’t kill Ric. At least not yet. Besides, he probably knows about Ric’s magic ring, so there is that. And even if he doesn’t kill him… do you have any idea, what that bastard could do to him, without killing him in the process? The pain he could inflict?” he asked roughly. He knew quite a bit about torture. Had been on the giving as well as the receiving end of it. He shuddered to think how much a 1000 year old freak like Klaus might know. “Alaric is strong. He’ll get through this.” Liz tried to comfort him. But Damon didn’t reply.  
   
***  
   
Their next stop was an abandoned warehouse, but they realized quickly that Alaric wasn’t here. The roof had caved in at some point and it didn’t look like someone had been here in years. Quietly they got back into the car and headed for the next destination, crossing out yet another building on their list.  
   
“Why the secrecy?” Liz asked suddenly. The tense silence was starting to get to her and the question had been on her mind for some time now. Damon just gave her a questioning look. “Your relationship with Alaric. Why do you keep it secret? I didn’t think you really cared about the opinion of other people.” she explained. “Our.. what? But we don’t… I mean we…” the vampire stammered, completely taken aback by the question. “I’m sheriff for a reason, Damon. I’m usually very observant. As long as it doesn’t concern vampires, I guess.” Liz muttered with a wry smile. The vampire felt at a loss for words.  
   
“And remember that I’ve got personal experience as well. I wasn’t as blind to my ex-husbands desires as everyone seems to think. I realized pretty early on what was really going on between Bill and his good friend Steven. Hell, it was so obvious. They weren’t all that sneaky. And I knew that Bill would leave me for Steven, months before he finally had the guts to come clean and do it.” the blonde continued.  
   
Damon heaved a resigned sigh. “Guess I underestimated you. How long have you known?” he asked. “A while now. You’re not as discreet as you think, you know? Far from it in fact. The way you look at Alaric, I’m surprised that the whole town hasn’t caught on, yet.” The vampire snorted, but strangely enough kept quiet otherwise. “And I really don’t understand why you keep it so secret, truth be told. Okay, Mystic Falls is a small town. Of course the people would gossip. But there’s always gossip and nothing is as boring as yesterdays news. They would find something new to talk about soon enough. Believe me, I know from personal experience.” the sheriff let him know. Damon gave her a calculating look. “So you’re saying that if I compel the football team to run naked through town a few days after our coming-out, no-one would bother us?”  
   
Liz smiled, glad to hear the familiar jokes again. Seeing Damon so quiet and scared was unnerving. “If the football team runs naked through town I know who to make responsible. And you won’t like the consequences, believe me.” she warned. Damon chuckled, but sobered quickly. “Ric is worried how the parents of his students might react. And he worries about Elena. He’s got this ridiculous theory that she suddenly developed a crush on me.” he explained, rolling his eyes.  
   
Liz could understand those worries and she didn’t think the theory was ridiculous at all. She too had noticed that Elena’s feelings for the older Salvatore had changed lately. It really was no wonder. Stefan had disappointed her greatly, while Damon was always there, taking care of her and offering support. “The parents will accept it eventually. And I think it would be better to tell Elena the truth straight away. She has a right to know and she’ll get over it.” the blonde advised. Elena should learn the truth before her crush on Damon could turn into something more. It would spare her the heartbreak.  
   
“Tell Ric.” Damon mumbled. “Okay, I will. As soon as he’s safely back home I’ll talk to him, if you want.” she offered, silently cursing herself for getting involved. While she and Alaric got along fine and she was grateful for all that he did for her town, she couldn’t claim that they were friends. More like acquaintances. Truth be told, Alaric was still very much a mystery to her. It was crazy, but she could understand the reckless and irritable vampire next to her better than the mostly so controlled history teacher.  
   
***  
   
A while later they reached the next house, but both had to realize quickly that it was another dead end. There was no-one here and hadn’t been for some time, by the looks of it. The door was nailed shut and a thick layer of dirt coated the handle. Damon cursed loudly and punched through a window. Sheriff Forbes turned away with a frown. Seeing his cuts healing instantly gave her the creeps. Sometimes she really forgot for a while that Damon was a vampire. Being reminded of it like this was disturbing.   
   
But she liked Damon. She trusted him, crazy as it was. So she gathered herself and went over to him, putting a calming hand on his shoulder. She could feel him tensing under her touch. His whole body seemed to vibrate with barely controlled rage. “Hey, calm down. I know it’s hard. But you losing your temper is helping no-one. Least of all Alaric.”   
   
Damon shook her hand off and took a few steps to the side. For a few minutes he just stood there, breathing deeply, trying to calm down. Ric had told him often enough not to lose his head and act rashly. To think things through, instead of letting his anger take over. But that was easier said than done. Damon had always been rash and impatient. He was glad that Liz was here to take over Ric’s job and keep him in check. “Let’s go.” he said finally, when he had calmed down somewhat.  
   
Liz followed him quietly to the car. She crossed out the house and typed the address of the next one into the gps, before starting the engine. For a few minutes they drove in silence, until she spoke up again: “You love him.” It wasn’t a question, but the vampire nodded anyways. “More importantly - he loves me, too.” he whispered. After decades of rejection – by his father, Katherine, Elena – he had finally found someone, who wanted him. Who chose him. Only him.  
   
“I know what you mean. Must be nice.” Liz murmured. “Bill never really loved me. Somehow I always knew that.” Damon looked at her in surprise and she was surprised at herself. She never talked about her feelings so openly. But maybe Damon and her had more in common than she had known. He seemed to understand. “At least by marrying him I got Caroline.” she continued, trying to lighten the mood. Her gorgeous, wonderfully sweet vampire daughter was really the only good thing that had resulted from her failed marriage. “It took me nearly 150 years to find Ric.” Damon answered strangely honest. “I’m afraid, I won’t have so much time.” the sheriff pointed out.  
   
“I could turn you.” It was said in jest. They both knew that. They both knew that Liz, while accepting and even befriending vampires, would never want to become one herself. So she didn’t even comment. “Of course it could help if you actually went out every once in a while. Unless you’re hoping to arrest mister right one day. But I never figured you’d go for a bad boy. So maybe I’ll have to find a good guy for you.” Damon offered.  
   
“You can team up with Caroline. She tells me all the time that I should go out more and that all the guys should be all over me.” the blonde told him, rolling her eyes. “Well, she’s right for once. You’re a very attractive woman, Liz. You’re smart and charming. It shouldn’t be hard for you to get a guy.” the vampire mused. And before she could start feeling uncomfortable at the compliments he added in typical Damon manner: “And you’ve got handcuffs.” When she glanced over he grinned at her and waggled his eyebrows suggestively, making her laugh. “If that’s your best reasoning I think I’ll pass. I don’t even want to know who you would view as a suitable candidate anyways.” Damon shrugged. “Your loss.”  
   
***  
   
The atmosphere was decidedly less tense when they reached the second warehouse. It was situated next to a small forest. They had been on the road for hours now and it had long since gotten dark. Therefore both of them immediately noticed the light inside the abandoned building. Sheriff Forbes turned the headlights off and parked the car in the shadows of the tree-line. They shared a quick look, before getting out of the car, both trying not to make a sound.  
   
Damon’s heart was racing. He tried his best to keep a cool head and act methodically, like Ric always told him. After getting the bag from the backseat he started sorting through the weapons, trying to decide what they might need. He handed Ric’s crossbow to Liz. “Klaus has probably left some of his hybrids to watch Ric. You’ll stand a better chance with that. Wooden bullets won’t be of much help against a hybrid. Try to hit the heart and take their heads off if you can.” he instructed, before pulling out a grenade and handing it over as well. “This is filled with a mixture of wolfsbane and vervaine. So don’t use it close to me.”  
   
Liz nodded and waited for the vampire to arm himself with a couple of stakes, before creeping quietly towards the building. Damon strained his ears for any sound coming from the warehouse. He could hear two men talking, but wasn’t sure if there were more of them. He communicated this silently to Liz and she nodded.  
   
They could see a big gate at the front of the warehouse and a door right next to it, which must have been the main entrance once. Creeping around the building they found another small door at the side and decided to try this. Damon opened it, cautiously peering inside. The power was obviously down. He could only see a few camping lanterns, illuminating the space rather poorly. Boxes and old crates were stacked nearby, hiding most of the hall from view. Only some empty space and another door - probably the entrance to the office - were visible from his position by the door. He could still hear the two men arguing with each other, but he didn’t see them.  
   
Taking a deep breath he slipped inside, waving for Liz to follow him. Both crept further into the building, careful to stay hidden behind the empty crates. Damon cautiously peeked around the side of their hiding place and had to stifle a shocked gasp. They had found Alaric. The teacher was hanging from the ceiling by his wrists, secured with thick chains, his naked feet barely touching the floor. His left shoulder looked like it was dislocated, he was covered in blood from head to toe and obviously unconscious. Damon was glad to see him breathing and almost thankful that he wasn’t conscious, because he had to be in terrible pain.  
   
For a few seconds he could only stare at his boyfriend in horror, therefore it took him a moment to notice the two men laughing and playing cards at a table a few feet away. Only Liz hand closing over his arm prevented him from rushing over in blind fury. The blonde shook her head warningly, before pointing first at herself and then to the left, indicating that she would attack from this side, while Damon should attack from the right. He nodded, taking another deep breath and getting ready to fight.  
   
The next few minutes were a blur. Liz threw the grenade. It shattered next to the table, wounding both men and shocking them into action. Damon noticed that they really were hybrids, just as the first one went down, having been shot by Liz. The vampire rushed over, grabbed the other guy and ripped his heart out in one fluid motion. Without missing a beat he bent down and ripped the first guy’s head off. It was over within minutes.   
   
Damon dropped the head carelessly and rushed over to Alaric. He broke the chains holding the teacher and caught him, as he sagged to the ground. Dropping to his knees he laid Ric down as gently as he could, but the movement was enough to shock the teacher awake. Groaning he opened his eyes and blinked up at Damon uncomprehendingly. The vampire didn’t hesitate. He bit down on his wrist and pressed it to Alaric’s lips. Although the teacher didn’t even seem to realize what was going on he swallowed automatically.  
   
All of a sudden the office-door flew open and another hybrid rushed into the room. Before Damon had time to react, Liz had shot another stake from the crossbow at the attacker, hitting him right in the heart. Damon nodded his thanks, before focusing all of his attention on Alaric again.  
   
The vampire blood was already taking effect. The wounds littering the teacher’s body were healing and his eyes became more clear and focused. “Damon…” he whispered and finally Damon was able to breathe again. He pulled Ric against his body, wrapped his arms around the teacher and just held him for a moment. Listened to the steady heart-beat and enjoyed the warmth radiating from Alaric’s body, finally dissolving his fear. Ric was safe and back in Damon’s arms, where he belonged. Only distantly he noticed that Liz had found a large knife and was cutting the third hybrid’s head off.  
   
“Okay, let’s get the hell out of here.” the sheriff’s voice finally shook him out of his trance. Alaric had accepted Damon’s cuddling with a bemused expression, but he stiffened when he heard Liz’ voice, like he had only now realized she was even there. “Can you walk?” Damon asked worriedly. “Yeah, I think so.” Ric’s voice sounded rough and scratchy, but surprisingly strong, considering he had been held captive and tortured for two days.  
   
He tried to pull out of the embrace, but when he moved his left arm he gasped in pain and fell back against Damon. “Your shoulder is dislocated. Do you want me to…?” the vampire offered hesitantly. Alaric winced, but nodded. It was further prove of how tough he was that he didn’t scream like a banshee when Damon fixed his shoulder. But he couldn’t hold back a groan and he couldn’t stop his body from shaking. Liz noticed that he was deathly pale. She led the way to the car, stealing worried glances at the teacher every few seconds. Damon was supporting his boyfriend, looking equally worried. They both breathed a sigh of relief when they finally reached the car.  
   
***  
   
About two hours later Liz was following the deserted street towards Mystic Falls. In the backseat Alaric’s head was resting in Damon’s lap. The teacher had finally given in to exhaustion and fallen asleep. He hadn’t told them what Klaus had done to him and Damon hadn’t prodded. Liz suspected that he would try to get answers later, when they were alone and Alaric had recovered somewhat from his ordeal.  
   
“Thank you.” the vampire said suddenly. “I wouldn’t have found him without your help.” The blonde glanced into the mirror, but he wasn’t looking at her. He only had eyes for Alaric. “Don’t mention it. That’s what friends are for, right?” she murmured. Now he did look up and their eyes met for a second. He seemed surprised. As surprised as Liz felt. The words had slipped out of her mouth without her intention. But it was true. They were friends.  
   
A small smile played about Damon’s lips. “Right.” he agreed, before looking down at Alaric’s sleeping form again. Liz thought the conversation was over, when Damon decided: “When he’s feeling better, I’ll ask him to make our relationship public. It’s about time we stopped sneaking around.” Sheriff Forbes smiled. “True. But leave the football team alone, understood?” she warned. “There’ll be a new catastrophe that demands everyone’s attention soon enough, I’m sure.” She knew her city after all and Mystic Falls was never quiet these days.  
   
The vampire muttered his agreement. Of course that didn’t mean he would really refrain from compelling anyone. But she let the matter rest for now. And as they crossed the border into Mystic Falls she made a decision as well. “When Klaus finally lets us have a few days of peace, I’ll go out more.” She had only been sheriff and mother for years now. It was about time she started thinking of herself again. And Caroline would agree with her. Of that she was sure.  
   
“When you score a date, mention the handcuffs.” Damon advised, without taking his eyes off Alaric. Liz shook her head with a grin. Everything was back to normal. Finally.


End file.
